Is working 4 hours per day too much to ask? If you ask a probate judge in Connecticut to do it, maybe it is…

The CT legislature enacted a requirement this last session that Connecticut Probate Courts remain open at least 20 hours each week. The legislature did not address how to accommodate the 20 hour requirement. So, who decides when the courts should be open to satisfy this new requirement?

In July Connecticut’s Probate Court Administrator, James Lawlor, notified the probate judges that their courts should be open 4 hours each day. Judge Lawlor also provided that a court could ask for a waiver from the daily requirement if they had good cause.

The Probate Judge’s Association was not happy with being told to show up for work every day even if it is only for 4 hours. The President of the Association, Brookfield’s Judge Joseph Secola, has threatened legal action to avoid this draconian work order from the Probate Court Administrator. One of his more amusing comments is [Lawlor's] “position is not king. The judges aren’t serfs that have to go to him on their knees to request a waiver from a standard that the law does not require.”

Hey Probate Judges, this is not the way to improve your image and enhance the respectability of a court system that has been under regular attack for the last five or so years. Go to work, serve the public, and stop the grand-standing over someone expecting you to show up to your job for 4 hours every day. If it is really that horrible, you can find another job. Oh wait, you might have to work 8 hours a day somewhere else.

A lot of people have to show up for work at a lot tougher jobs than yours for 8 or more hours ever day, remember that.

Well this is something you don’t see every day.

The Coventry Funeral Home was the subject of a search warrant on Tuesday. The home’s former owner, Kevin Riley, has been under investigation by the Health Department and the state probate court. Riley is accused of entering homes of the deceased and disposing of items without the family’s permission. The probate court is investigating that complaint as well as 12 other cases while the health department decides whether to revoke Riley’s embalmer’s license.

You can read the full story from WFSB here.

I don’t really have anything to add to this. All I can say is “wow.”

Our Probate Courts are involved in some of the most intimate details of our lives. They primarily get involved in cases of death or disability. Probate records are also public, which can lead to distribution of personal and financial information you would rather not be “out there.”

Privacy concerns in Probate are nothing new. Attorneys have spread the word about these privacy concerns to the public over the years. Many families recognize the disadvantage of having their information in the public domain and have implemented an estate plan to protect their privacy. Some continue to be skeptical and do nothing. I understand the initial reaction of: “who could possibly be interested in my family’s probate records in small town Connecticut which contain nothing valuable other than a house?” One person that may be interested is that real estate investor down the street…

For those of you that think “it won’t happen to me”, consider the following. First, Diamond Farming Probate Real Estate Kit. This is a real estate investing program for sale throughout the United States that, in the words of its creator, “… explains in detail how you can make bargain, and even super-bargain buys, of real estate property going through probate.” Do you still think nobody is going through the Probate Court records to identify desperate sellers in order to make a low bid?

Second, take a look at Court Records Online. This is a company gathering up court records, including Probate records, to have available for retrieval on its website to anyone that is curious. Do you still think your records are going to stay relatively unknown and anonymous in the basement of the Town Hall?

Today’s topic is your information is valuable to someone. It can be someone you never imagined and someone with no personal agenda other than profit. Whether it is someone trying to make a low bid on your real estate for personal gain or a company just collecting public information for curious people someone is watching.

Are you committed to an estate plan that protects your privacy? I can show you proven techniques to preserve your privacy during disability and death. You can reserve your consultation by calling (860) 593-0404.

Nursing home costs in Connecticut are expensive, even outrageous by some standards. In the most recent survey, the average cost of nursing home care in Connecticut was found to be $9,096 per month. As bad as that sounds, remember that is the average cost, some facilities were even higher. To many people, nursing home costs are the single greatest threat to their life savings. Each year of nursing home care in Connecticut can take away more than $100,000 from your savings.

Who is going to pay that bill every month? Medicare? Medicare covers 100 days at best if you have the correct coverage and satisfy the conditions for benefits. Long term care insurance? Many people do not have long term care insurance. Even those that do have coverage often find themselves with monthly bills in excess of the policy benefits. Do you have a current policy and does it pay enough? Medicaid? In order to qualify for Title 19 Medicaid benefits in Connecticut you must satisfy some strict eligibility standards. Without a plan for action, your savings can dwindle away while you wait for benefits.

You can choose to protect your savings by exercising the rights you are entitled to under current law. The laws change however, and common proven techniques that are available now may not be available in the future or even next year. The legislature took additional steps to close another loophole effective July 1, 2007. The sooner you start the more choices you have.

The Title 19 Medicaid Protection Winter Workshop will give you an assessment of your risks and opportunities from an experienced attorney that has protected millions of dollars for his clients. Get a head start and act early, or face the spend-down later on.

You Should Reserve Your Free Consultation If Any Of The Following Apply To You:

• Your family currently faces or may face a nursing home placement within the next 6 years; or
• Your spouse resides in a nursing home; or
• You currently rely on a revocable living trust or annuities for Medicaid protection; or
• Your family has more than $50,000 in assets other than the primary residence.

When:
October 1-19, 2007
Monday, Wednesday, & Friday Appointments
9:30am, 1:30pm, and 4:30pm

Where:
Law Office of Richard L. Shea
66 Cedar Street, Suite 300A
Newington, CT 06111

This is the last opportunity to guarantee asset protection planning at year 2007 rates.